Spectrum Uganda Initiatives is a co-sponsor to Coro Allegro Boston and RefugePoint is our special partner. All proceeds will go to aid LGBTI refugees in Kenya. They have fled persecution in their home countries and now face a crisis. The wait for being resettled in a friendly country can be two or three years. Modest cash assistance for them ends in June. Please join us to help them. LGBTI people in Uganda and other neighboring countries continue to face persecution. Many have sought refuge in Kenya. Unfortunately, those living in Kenya still face the risk of violence in the UN-sponsored camps; and many have fled to Nairobi. The current international flood of migrants has dramatically increased the time for processing applications for resettlement in friendly countries. Shortages of funding mean that the direct cash assistance for refugees living outside of the camps will be cut off in June.

The fundraiser will support programs of our special partner RefugePoint and grassroots efforts to ensure the continued safety, health and economic sustainability of these refugees for the time they must remain in Kenya:• Safe housing• Accessing medical services and medications• Strategies for earning a livelihood during a longer-than-expected stay in Kenya prior to resettlement. They includeo vocational trainingo small business developmento integration of refugees into local communities

Why is an LGBT and allies chorus raising funds for LGBTI refugees? Their struggle is ours.

The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia is not one centralised campaign; rather it is a moment that everyone can take advantage of to take action.

The date of May 17th was specifically chosen to commemorate the World Health Organization’s decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder.

The International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia has received official recognition from several States, international institutions as the European Parliament, and by countless local authorities. Most United Nations agencies also mark the Day with specific events